If no funding bill is signed, 30,000 DHS employees will be furloughed, approximately 80% of the department will be forced to work without pay, and the effects on the department could limit the effectiveness of homeland security.

Concurrently, Somali terror cell al-Shabaab has made explicit terror threats to all shopping malls in the US, citing the Mall of America, one of the largest malls, in particular.

Why it Matters

President Obama’s executive order regarding immigration is ruffling feathers. The order includes delayed deportation and worker visas for undocumented immigrants. On one hand, Americans see our current immigration stance as antiquated and too hard to fix. Deporting millions of illegal aliens, already in this country, would take consider capital to implement.

Republicans want the legislation funding DHS to include language that would permanently block the President’s order. Democrats will only vote on a “clean” bill that solely addresses funding for DHS, and makes no mention of blocking an executive action on immigration. With three failed attempts to pass funding legislation in the House, and filibusters going on in the Senate, it is possible that the DHS will not get funding in time for their new budget year.

Outlook

Funding DHS is an important measure on the table for Congress. Our representatives will have to decide whether or not immigration reform poses the same threat to national security, right now, as not funding DHS. With the February 27th deadline approaching, the battle within Congress is sure to heat up and the outcome could affect relations between the Executive and Legislative branches moving forward.